May 25, TampaBayLightning.com: “I am thrilled to introduce Steve to the Tampa Bay community
today,” said [Lightning owner Jeff] Vinik. “I am confident that he is the right person to lead
the Tampa Bay hockey team as we strive to become a world class
organization. We are pleased Steve has elected to join the Lightning,
bringing with him strong leadership qualities and a competitive desire
to win through hard work and determination.”

"Steve Yzerman is driven to succeed,” NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman
said. “His level of accomplishment - as a champion with the Detroit Red
Wings and as a gold medal team builder with Team Canada - represents
precisely the type of individual Jeff Vinik wants for the Tampa Bay
Lightning: a person committed to the team, to achievement and to the
fans."

Yzerman, 45, has spent the previous 27 seasons with the Red Wings as a
player, captain and executive. He is a four-time Stanley Cup
Champion, winning three as a player in 1997, 1998 and 2002 and another
as a member of Detroit’s management team in 2008. Yzerman ranks sixth
in NHL history for points with 1,755, seventh in assists with 1,063,
eighth in goals with 692 and 13th in games played with 1,514. He spent
20 seasons as the captain in Detroit, the longest such tenure in NHL
and major sports history. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
in 2009, his first year of eligibility.

After retiring from the game, Yzerman became an integral part of
Hockey Canada’s management team. He served as general manager for
Canada at the 2007 and 2008 IIHF World Championships, bringing home
Gold and Silver respectively. He then led Hockey Canada to a magical
moment this past February when his team defeated the United States in
overtime to win the Gold Medal on home ice at the 2010 Winter Olympics
in Vancouver, where he served as executive director. Yzerman also won
an Olympic Gold Medal as a player with Canada in 2002.

“I am extremely excited to join the Lightning organization as we look
to re-establish the organization as one of the most respected in the
NHL,” Yzerman said. “There is a great nucleus here and Jeff is a
proactive, enthusiastic and committed owner. I look forward to getting
started right away.”

As TampaBayLightning.com's Peter Pupello notes, Yzerman emphasized that he and Vinik share the same "vision" regarding re-establishing the Lightning as a preeminent franchise:

May 25, TampaBayLightning.com: Vinik opened the discussion by introducing Yzerman to the all in
attendance and described the experience of interviewing a number of
candidates as a “process” that was well thought out and executed, a
method that Yzerman also intends to utilize in building a winning
hockey club.

“Steve is the right man to bring a winning culture back to Tampa Bay
and to make the Lightning a world-class organization,” Vinik said. “His
leadership, character, integrity and hard work exemplified everything
that I look for. My vision, as well as his, really meshed to a high
degree.”

...

“Jeff and I share the same philosophies and possess the same values
which I believe will help in the process,” he said. “We have high
demands and high expectations, but they are realistic expectations.
There is no secret recipe here and we are going to be very methodical.
We are going to treat people with respect, do things the right way, and
bring in a head coach who is driven, who has won before, and who has a
strong passion for hockey.”

...

“To be a successful organization, you really need skill players,”
Yzerman said. “We must be more astute in signing free agents, drafting
prospects, developing young talent and being patient with them. It
starts with management. It is a long process that requires us to be
very methodical.”

The Lightning's website also posited a roundup of outside takes on Yzerman's hiring.

Tampa Tribune: The Tampa Tribune's Erik Erlendsson appreciated Yzerman's statements regarding his approach to building a winner, per the lessons he learned while apprenticing as the Red Wings' vice president:

May 26, Tampa Tribune: "It's given me the opportunity to go to school, and watch how they
make every decision, how they go about running the hockey club on a
daily basis,'' Yzerman said. "Mostly what I've learned is patience, that
you have to be patient in every decision that comes to mind, that it
takes time for players to develop, that you don't make rash decisions.
And then, surround yourself with good people who have a passion for the
game and you know really want to win.''

...

"I've learned a lot and I'm going to apply that to my role here in
Tampa Bay and those same philosophies on building a team, and the ideas
they had on how to handle all situations,'' he said. "It's been proven
successful in Detroit and it's proven successful in other organizations
in all of sports, and I follow the same theory and I intend to stick
with that and mostly it comes down to being disciplined enough to stick
with what I'm talking about.''

And Ken Holland and Jimmy Devellano endorsed his candidacy:

"He's been a part of our management team now for four years and he
knows how a good organization is run, he's been able to see that both as
a player and as part of the management team,'' said Devellano, who
served as general manager for the Red Wings when Yzerman was selected
fourth overall in 1983. "He understands the roles you need to give
people to make the franchise go well.''

...

"The four years have allowed him to spend time in our organization,
see how we do it,'' Holland said. "He's been ready to go for the last
little while, so he's ready to be a general manager and he's paid his
dues.''

The Tribune's Joe Henderson simply appreciated the fact that Yzerman and Vinik appear poised to rebuild the franchise after their former owners, Oren Koules and Len Barrie, did their best to run the franchise into the ground:

May 26, Tampa Tribune: "The hockey world is abuzz today with the Tampa Bay Lightning, trust
me," former team standout Brian Bradley said. "This is awesome. Getting
this franchise, winning the Stanley Cup, and now getting Steve Yzerman are
the biggest things ever for this team."

It hasn't been easy to watch the deterioration of a franchise that
just six years ago won the Stanley Cup. The truth is, many fans have
decided not to watch the Lightning at all after Hollywood producer Oren
Koules and partner Len Barrie bought the team two years ago and began a
catastrophic reign of ruin. Attendance plummeted as wins became scarce and the team became
essentially irrelevant in a city where it once was celebrated.

The "Cowboys" – as Koules and Barrie became known – hired TV analyst
Barry Melrose to replace John Tortorella as head coach. They overlooked
the fact that Torts had won a Cup and Melrose hadn't coached in more
than a decade. They fired Melrose after 16 games. They made so many player moves it
looked like the roster was being drawn from a hat. And a franchise that
once was the model for how to succeed in a Sun Belt city sank to the
bottom of the league. The only thing missing was a clown car.

...

"I really feel everybody around Tampa should be excited about the new
direction of the team with this hiring," Bolts forward Marty St. Louis
said. "To have a guy like Steve, who has respect all around the league,
is a big plus for Tampa."

May 26, Tampa Tribune: How beloved is Steve Yzerman back in Detroit? Well, a number of
Red Wings fans are now adopting Tampa Bay as their new “second’’
favorite team, according to some message boards I’ve been perusing
through today. Beyond that, Yzerman is seen as a member of the family
that has left town, as evidenced by this statement released by Red
Wings’ owners Mike and Marian Ilitch:

...

“Today is a difficult day for us, just as we know it is for Red Wings
fans everywhere. It’s hard to imagine Steve Yzerman in anything other
than the red and white Winged Wheel as he has been synonymous with the
Red Wings and Hockeytown for as long as most of us can remember! We
want to congratulate Steve on his new position with the Tampa Bay
Lightning. This is an exciting and well-deserved opportunity for him
and his family, and we know he will do a terrific job in this next
chapter of his life. Yet, this is not easy—we’re having a difficult
time, frankly, because Stevie’s been with us from the start and we
consider him part of our family. We drafted him as a young and shy 18
year old—just a year after we bought the team—and he has been part of it
all: the ups and downs, highs and lows, the Cups, the celebrations,
really everything Red Wings over the last 27 years. We watched him grow
and develop over the years into a Hall of Fame player, a wonderful
husband and father and now, a very capable executive. We appreciate all
Stevie has done for us, our organization and this community, and we
wish him all the best. Stevie Y will always be a Red Wing and he’ll
always be in our hearts.”

May 26, St. Petersburg Times:zerman said he wants a coach in place by July 1, and of his demands
on everyone in the organization: "They will be high, but they will be
realistic."

They also will come from one person. Owner Jeff Vinik
said Yzerman will be responsible for all hockey-related decisions and
report only to him. "He has full rein," Vinik said.

...

Yzerman said he did not turn down multiple offers from Vinik before
accepting the job, as was reported in Canada. He said he was not
given an ownership stake, also as was reported in Canada, and said three
weeks of intense discussions with Vinik, by phone and in person, swayed
his decision.

"With each conversation Jeff and I had, I liked his
plan," Yzerman said. "In my opinion, I believe Jeff has a complete
understanding of what has to be done here."

"He has all the
characteristics I've talked about that I and the Lightning organization
are looking for," Vinik said, "leadership, integrity, hard work, loyalty
and an intelligent, thoughtful approach to making decisions."

The St. Petersburg Times' John Romano appreciates the credibility that Yzerman lends the beleagured Lightning organization...

May 27, St. Petersburg Times: "Steve Yzerman's name did not get this job. Steve Yzerman the hockey
player did not get this job," Vinik said. "Steve Yzerman the person that
I got to know over the last four to six weeks, that's who earned this
job."

Vinik went to Detroit to meet Yzerman a month ago. Later,
they talked on the phone. Then Yzerman went to Boston to meet with
Vinik. And again they talked on the phone. Eventually Vinik offered him
the job, and Yzerman spent a few days discussing it with family and
friends. When it became clear he was going to accept, Yzerman got
in his car and drove to the home of Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch to tell
him and his wife, Marian, in person that he was leaving after 27 years.

...

Do you remember a few weeks back when Vinik was introduced as the new
owner? He made a point of saying the organization would have a specific
chain of command that would include the general manager reporting to
the CEO, and the CEO reporting to Vinik.

That organizational
structure has already been blown apart. The general manager will now
report directly to the owner, and you can bet that was a part of
Yzerman's negotiation process. Yzerman came to Tampa Bay because he felt
he and Vinik shared a common philosophy, and he was not going to let
that vision be obstructed by a middle man. Modifying his plan for
Yzerman was the right call by Vinik. The last time the Lightning had a
CEO, the relationship between the business side and hockey operations
grew contentious at times. There was a perception that Tortorella and GM
Jay Feaster felt like they had to sneak past CEO Tom Wilson and go
directly to owner Bill Davidson to spend any money. In this
relationship, that should not be an issue.

Finally, former Red Wings coach and advisor Scotty Bowman and former teammate Brendan Shanahan spoke to the Times' Brian Landman about Yzerman's perseverance and willingness to do whatever it takes to win:

May 26, St. Petersburg Times: "When I first went to Detroit, it was an offensive team that hadn't
learned how to play defense," said Scotty Bowman, a Hall of Famer who
coached the Red Wings for nine years. "I explained to (Yzerman) that
this team can't win unless you take charge of playing good defense. It
wasn't easy for him because he was a 60-goal player and 150 or 160
points. But I told him what he had to do to win, and he did it. He
went through a transformation as a hockey player. He was a one-man
offensive machine, and he became a real team leader. So I'd say his
strong suit is that he's a guy who knows what it takes to win."...

"It took me to my 14th year with the Red Wings for us to win a
Stanley Cup," Yzerman said at the Tuesday afternoon news conference at
the St. Pete Times Forum introducing him as a member of the Lightning.
"We did it a lot of different ways, and we weren't able to get there.
Scotty Bowman came in and said we had to be better defensively, we had
to be more responsible. He said, 'Guys, this is the way it's going to
be. This is the program. If you want to be a part of it, this is the way
it's going to be.' I chose to accept any role, and we had great
success after that. I loved every minute of it. I don't regret any
changes that we had to make. Scotty Bowman made me a better hockey
player regardless of what the stats were."

...

"He has a very big heart," Bowman said. "He's very competitive, and
he knows what it takes to win, and he's a good listener."

"Steve
was the ultimate team player," said former Red Wings star wing Brendan
Shanahan, now the NHL's vice president of hockey and business
development. "I played with him for 10 years, and I don't ever remember
seeing him have a moment of selfishness, even in private moments. I
don't think there was ever a time when Steve acted in a way that he
would look back upon and be ashamed of. He was a great person to the
public eye but an even better person when the cameras weren't on him."

That's why he will be missed so very much around here--we already knew that from the moment he arrived in Detroit.